The Plan for Tonight

The Goodness supporting Fortune Drive at The Louis on a Friday night. What could be better?

Going Dutch?

Not so many gigs for my boyz the last few months. GCSEs coming up, the school musical which all 3 starred in (more later), plus family stuff for some, has meant a quiet few weeks.

Last gig at all was at the school Christmas concert where they still managed to blow away the audience in the new, acoustically-challenged school gym, and Billy led a riotous drum-off (imagine, sitting in a school hall, tall curtains opening slowly. First you see and hear Billy, central with his red kit, clearly pushing the rhythm forward… and the curtains pull back wider and wider until finally is revealed… 10 full drum kits, plus 2 electric kits creating this massive pounding rhythm where each player gets a spot for a solo and the sound builds to a massive crescendo until the audience (well me and Nichole) are whooping and cheering. What an opener!).

Most recent previous ‘proper gig’ (not for school, family or mates) was on the 11th of December, supporting Rosie and the Goldbug (superior website, worth a look) at The Cooler. Another band I hadn’t come across before but apparently they have supported Cyndi Lauper on tour and there’s a talented, eccentric performer if ever there was one.

The Cooler was also unknown to me til last year but is a real nice venue, where you can lurk at the back near the raised bar (even sit in the deep, comfy armchairs if you want) and still watch the bands if you don’t feel like being right in the thick of it (these are things that at my age start to become important; appealing to my ‘mum’ nature rather than the ‘rock n roll’). Billy mocks the way I pronounce Cooler. He hears me say ‘Cooooo-lah’ when what he wants to hear sounds more to me like ‘Cawler.’

The real point of this post is to draw your attention to the new page – check out Go Dutch – now with new fast-approaching gigs.

Band Trivia and Misheard-Lyrics

Here’s some trivia for you pop-pickers. Mentioning Fortune Drive and The Goodness in my previous post reminded me of the connection between the 2 bands…

The Goodness are named after a Fortune Drive lyric!

Steve (Goodness) really loved Fortune Drive. It’s always a toughie naming a new band, but after trying dozens of titles that didn’t work, The Goodness seemed to do the job well. And I guess this connection is why you’ll often find The Goodness supporting Fortune Drive.

Being a sad-old-rock-n-roll-mum I do tend to mishear the lyrics sometimes. I heard Fortune Drive singing ‘When The Goodness comes to town’ when Billy tells me its actually ‘When your goodness comforts me’. And I heard The Goodness singing ‘There’s a time and a place’ when actually it’s ‘There’s a ton of bricks’. Now Megan likes to sing my alternative lyrics in an ironic tone when we’re at a Goodness gig.

If you don’t know the songs this might not tickle you, but for any real fan of either of the bands I will be clearly demonstrating my status as somebody’s mother. No doubt I have probably got some of these ‘facts’ wrong too, and it’s a shame I don’t know the name of the song of FD’s that TG are named after. Will let you know when Bill has re-corrected me.

And then Saturday Night

What a great weekend. Day-time Saturday was the super-ace Flash Mob Silent Disco (see below). And the fun didn’t stop there.

Saturday evening; Billy, Jess, Noah, Emily, Megan, April, Nichole and I trooped down to The Thunderbolt. This fabby pub used to be called The Turnpike and had a seedy, none-to-friendly atmosphere with an even worse reputation. Last year my mate Dave (Davey Mac) and his partner bought it. Now it’s a really welcoming, community-spirited venue for music, comedy and film as well as a real nice boozer.

We went to see Fortune Drive. They’re yet another band that Billy and Noah have introduced me to and we’ve been to see them several times, including at The Croft and an acoustic set at The Old Duke (a pub more usually renowned for jazz), where they were supported by a friend of my boys, Steve Preston of The Goodness (not too digress too much but DO check out The Goodness they are remarkably good, still all under 20 years old, and kind of role models to Bill and Noah, having taken music at St Brendan’s, the sixth form college B&N will start at in September).

Fortune Drive’s acoustic set was an absolute killer that night and there was plenty more dancing to be had. And such a pleasure to go to a gig at a fine local pub which welcomed my teenage friends and family with open arms. Dave Mac even let me give him Go Dutch’s myspace info with the view to maybe giving them a gig sometime. Add cups of tea with Nick, hanging out with Greg, and breakfast and tea with Richole and you’ll see I had an extremely social, rock n roll mum weekend.

Flash Mob Silent Disco

So there’s this phenomenon called Flash Mobs. Word is spread of an event where, at the allocated time and place, a happening happens. A couple of years ago my brother joined a flash mob pillow fight in Trafalgar square. Hundreds of people hitting strangers amicably with soft furnishings. It sounded great and I was jealous.

My friend Greg told me one was happening in Bristol this weekend. I joined the Facebook group and saw that the Valentine’s Day Silent Disco would gather at Bristol’s Centre at 2.58pm on Saturday. The requirements? An ipod, fancy dress optional. I’m an old fart that doesn’t own an ipod, but of course Billy does, so he put together a playlist for me and gave me a 2 minute Dummies Guide to Using the Modern Walkman. Last year for Shambala I made a bonnet out of plastic flowers and day-glo netting. It’s been sitting in my front room for months. I knew this was the perfect opportunity to give it another outing.

Having placed my bonnet carefully in my backpack, with the ipod in my pocket, I stomped down to the centre. As I walked I laughed to myself, excited about the event and loving that that I had a secret day-glo extravaganza on my back. I arrived a few minutes early and rolled a roll-up. And watched as people gathered, all with this silent mission on their minds, saying nothing but eying each other up: ‘is he gonna be part of it?’ ‘Does she know what’s going on?’. A street musician called Dubafex
acted as a centre for the gathering and at just a minute or two past three (come on, this IS Bristol we’re talking about) he stopped the music, I whipped my hat out of the bag, and we started dancing.

My first track was Mardi Gras by Go Dutch. Of course. Good one to start with. Hard to tell how many people were there, at least 100 I’d say. Lots of camera-phones and videos, lots of laughing and smiling, lots of jigging about. One group did that sitting on the floor dance we used to do at school discos. I loved it.

More pics and videos here. (the short vid by Zoe Pither makes me laugh out loud every time I see it)

Half term in the city

It’s half term next week. Billy and Noah are going to see This Town Needs Guns at the Camden Barfly in London. TTNG are a good band which Bill has introduced me to. I’d love to go with them but I’m stepping back – this is gonna be a great experience for my boys – first trip up to The Big Smoke on their own to see a band.. how exciting. Actually they’re staying with Uncle Mark and he’s gonna show them the sights, but nevertheless they’ll have to get there by themselves and work out how to use the tube and all that stuff. It’ll be a Rite of Passage.

Meanwhile Meg has asked me if I’ll spend half term working with her on writing a script and making a film for her college course. So I’m dead excited too. Should be a good week.

***

Camden Barfly says This Town Needs Guns are best described as: ‘New guerilla folk/Social awareness messages with an overdose of Jewish chutzpa/Israeli power punk chopped with ethnic elements, rap rhymes & pop choruses/North African beat & east European melodies schizophrenically combined with a rough street disco flavor.’

This Town Needs Guns
Camden Barfly

Blakfish

Blakfish are a Deathpop band from Birmingham. Billy and Noah have been listening to them for a while. They came to play in Bristol, Autumn 08.

Blakfish have got this great underground publicity thing going on, where fans volunteer to Spam Their City ahead of a gig. Bill and Noah volunteered and were sent a load of stickers, posters and badges which they circulated at venues and gigs they went to. Turns out Bill and Noah were the only Bristol people to spam for Blakfish so the band offered them free entry to the gig (there’s a story here about earning gigs by doing chores which I’ll come to another time).

So B&N trundled down to The Thekla pre-gig to meet the band, and I settled in for a quite Saturday night with Pop Idol. Then I get a phone call from Billy: “Can Blakfish stay at our house tonight? Please please, its my teenage-boy-fantasy.” With the proviso that they didn’t turn up smashed and wreck the house, how could I say No?

So about 11.30 that night two of Blakfish turned up. The other two had said they wouldn’t come – one because he was a bit pissed and might accidentally break something, the other because he was so rock n roll he might be unable to resist throwing things around. What self-awareness! They popped their heads round the front room door when they arrived, said hello and politely offered me a can of Stella, which I accepted. Such good boys – when they wanted a roll-up they went and sat in the garden. At about 1am Noah popped his head round the door and said “This is amazing. Blakfish!!” I felt a warm glow inside. The next morning, after a breakfast of Lidl pain au chocolat, and indulging me by having their photo taken with me at the front door for proof, half of Blakfish and B&N trundled back to The Thekla to meet the others, pick up the band van and make their way back to Birmingham.

So I’m just settling in for a nice game of solitaire on the computer when I get a phone call from Billy: “The van’s dead, can you come and jump-start Blakfish?” So me and Jess (Billy’s girlfriend who had just arrived) jumped in the car, drove down to The Thekla and jump-started the band van. I feel I am Hero Mum at this point.

Of course I’d never heard of Blakfish and they seemed lovely young men to me, but this is what the papers say:

“Bring your earplugs and don’t bring your parents! Blakfish are here and they want you to know it too. Here is something dynamic, explosive, aggresive and intense. With time signatures bouncing around like drunken teenagers on a trampoline, and vocals to make even your own throat hurt. This band will change your life.” Birminghamusic.com

“Blakfish’s set goes swimmingly. The energetic punk-rockers reel in the crowd by fusing a range of interchanging melodies and rhythms, before the lead singer casts himself off the stage halfway through their final song.” Sandman Magazine

“Blakfish’s blowtorch-to-the-face – of – Mclusky hardcore ended up scaring every attendee. Proving Blakfish are certainly worth as much as any of their showmates, and this group should be watched, preferably up close and in the middle of a riot.” Play Music – Pickup

http://blakfish.com/
myspace.com/blakfish
more about Blakfish and their Spam Your City teams: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=8904206&blogID=443439363
http://www.theklabristol.co.uk/

Musicians Union

This week Billy has been in touch with the Musicians Union. I like to think it’s because I’ve instilled in him some of my pinko-leftie values about solidarity, collective voice and worker’s rights but in reality it’s because a band called Blakfish told him about the MU. www.musiciansunion.org.uk

He’s been emailing them, asking them about contracts, rates of pay and entitlement to payment, etc. They’ve been extremely good, answering his queries very quickly, clearly and respectfully.

Billy met Blakfish last autumn. I’ll post the Blakfish story now..

hello world

Sometimes at work I tell stories about my son’s band. Sometimes my workmates laugh. Sometimes they look bored. One time they said “You should write this in a blog”. Maybe they were just trying to shut me up..